Hello all, If any of you have the Kanzaki KBW 10 (or any other Kanzaki transmission for that matter), I wanted to let you know what we went through, and what we found was a really good solution. Since we bought our 1994 C&C 37/40+ about 3 years ago, we've always noticed that sailing with the transmission in neutral resulted in pretty noticeable noise and vibration. It would spin slower and result in less noise in forward as well. Believing that the prop shaft was reasonably in line and without issues, we presumed it was simply a characteristic of the boat. A few weeks ago, we were out sailing and when I revved the engine, it sped up dramatically, then engaged, obviously indicating the transmission was slipping. What a bummer! I searched all around the internet, finding very little about this transmission. I priced the fiber and steel plates and thrust washers through Yanmar, resulting in a very disappointing number of somewhat more than $800 if I am remembering correctly. My local Yanmar dealer even indicated they would send out the transmission to Ft. Lauderdale, say they did not overhaul them. Beyond that I heard indications that parts were becoming increasingly difficult to find, and others recommending replacement with a different transmission entirely. You can imagine my sense of doom. Finally, I came across an old posting going back to 2015 or so, mentioning Al Holzer at Schooner Bay Marina in Bayfield, WI. Being from the Midwest, I was cautiously optimistic, having found most folks in that part of the world to be hard working, honest types. Al priced out the parts, and he must have better sources, because they were much more reasonable, though he advise me that on my particular transmission, the bearings commonly spin and damage the case. Opting to go with a properly rebuilt transmission, Al took only a couple days to overhaul one in his shop and sent out a fully rebuilt unit for $1,500, offering to pay for the return shipping of the old unit.
Despite having to fight with some frozen (and subsequently broken) bolts on my old unit, the new transmission fit in perfectly. The flanges aligned with something like .002 variance on my feeler gauge, and maybe not even that much. We took the boat out sailing, and when I left it in neutral and went down below, I heard virtual silence from the drive train. Upon removing the rear engine cover, I only heard a quiet whooshing sound, much like you would expect from a small 12 volt fan on low speed. To say I am happy with Al's services would be an understatement. More can be found about Al and Schooner Bay Marina here: https://schoonerbaymarinallc.com/site/ Hopefully you will not have transmission issues like I did, but if you do, I recommend contacting Al! Hoping you find this helpful, Bruce Whitmore 1994 C&C 37/40+"Astralis"Madeira Beach, FL (847) 404-5092 (mobile) bwhitm...@sbcglobal.net
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